Sign up, show up and go play – it is just that simple, right?
Well, it isn't like that for everyone. I mean, in an ideal world, in the ecosphere of happy suburbia where you pile into the backseat of your mom's SUV and show up at a meticulously manicured baseball field it is so darn simple. You get there decked out in your nice, crisp uniform (one of the four or five combinations your travel team has), grab that bat that costs several hundred dollars and get to gettin' it.
Get your hacks in, take some infield and rip through the methods and progression of a finely-tuned baseball workout.
Or maybe you play that weekend in one of those blockbuster showcase tournaments that pop up all over the place this time of year where a bunch of college coaches have acute eyes on everyone, trying to pick and parse through who could potentially help their program.
So easy, right?
But let me let you in on something: It isn't like that for everyone. Not even close --- not even for all the good, young ballplayers out there who deserve as such.
And recently I was introduced to a group trying to bridge the gap, trying to remove barriers to entry while increasing diversity and inclusion in the games of baseball and softball right here in Pittsburgh --- Pittsburgh Hardball Academy.
Oh yes.
What an organization.
What an undertaking.
You see, this is a grassroots organization serving over 40 kids in our area with many from minority backgrounds.
They have the ability, the want and desire to play high-level travel baseball and compete with anyone around. This program has turned out 15 young men --- in just a few seasons --- who have garnered some sort of baseball scholarship funding to move on and play collegiately.
And their goal is simple --- with the tireless work of executive director Nelson Cooper IV, president Brian Jacobson and all their coaches --- as Pittsburgh Hardball Academy wants to continue to cultivate the baseball talent they know is here, much of which within the limits of the City of Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Hardball Academy
But then comes the difficult part: High-level baseball programming comes with skyrocketing costs as it has become a necessity to get to showcases and top-end tournaments so as to get the right eyes on you. In short, if you want to get noticed by the people who can potentially do the most for you in your baseball career, you have to both play against the best and pay a ton to do it.
That's just the reality of the trade off.
And just about all of these kids from the Pittsburgh Hardball Academy don't come from a place where expendable income is something that's readily available.
Heck, even the training tools and basic elements it takes to get workouts in (before even playing in games or traveling anywhere) can and have been exorbitant from a cost standpoint.
So they look for funding, they try to establish and maintain strategic partnerships that will limit the out-of-pocket expenses these kids who have a baseball dream will have to incur. And they have been successful in doing it to this point, but it is something that is a year-round, all-the-time endeavor just to keep the program afloat.
This program, all aspects of it, is something that struck me. It resonated with me on a lot of levels; most of all as someone who feels compelled to get the word out about a place doing so much darn good for so many young people.
Isn't this exactly what we need in our society?
Isn't this exactly the type of program you want to see do well --- one that has a group that has all the talent, aptitude and ability but can be hindered a bit by not having funding?
I root for all good kids to do well. But there is something a little more to it when good kids have to overcome an extra obstacle or two. That's what the Pittsburgh Hardball Academy is doing.
And that's why I'm rooting for them maybe a little more vociferously.
Pittsburgh Hardball Academy
To learn more please visit their website at www.pittsburghhardball.org and follow on Twitter / Instagram @PGH_Hardball
